The California HealthCare Foundation is an independent philanthropy
committed to both helping consumers make informed health care decisions
and improving the way healthcare is delivered and financed in California.
Not only do they provide funding for many organizations doing good
work in these areas, but also they provide a wealth of information
and resources to consumers, policy makers, advocates, and other professionals
through their website at www.chcf.org.
Recently they added a new Medicare
Drug Benefit resource area devoted solely to information on Medicare
Part D.

The Medicare Drug Benefit area contains: top news articles on the
drug coverage; a list of recent reports, papers, and resources from
CHCF, and other organizations or government entities such as the Kaiser
Family Foundation and the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); links to consumer resources,
with direct links to the Health
Insurance Counseling & Advocacy Program (HICAP) and Calmedicare.org;
and a calendar of upcoming event dealing with Medicare Part D. They
are currently highlighting the California Medicare Coalition’s (CMC)
statewide trainings on “Changes Ahead for Medicare in California” which
were held on June 14-16, 2005.

Other areas of CHCF’s site that may be of particular interest to Medicare
advocates includes their Medicare, Medi-Cal, Prescription Drugs, Long
Term Care, and Special Populations sections. These sections list reports,
fact sheets, policy briefs, and websites with information on the respective
areas. People can also view and search past California
Healthline articles. This CHCF online news service provides
daily coverage on health and health care related issues within Sacramento,
the state of California, and throughout the country.

About Karen Fletcher

Our blogger Karen J. Fletcher is CHA's publications consultant. She provides technical expertise, writing and research on Medicare, health disparities and other health care issues. With a Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley, she serves in health advocacy as a trainer and consultant. See her current articles.

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Send Us Comment

Do you have comments or concerns about your Medicare coverage? Issues regarding getting your needed prescriptions from your Part D plan, or a Medicare Advantage plan representative's marketing practices? Let us know at comments@cahealthadvocates.org.

We are dedicated to making Medicare's program work well for all beneficiaries. Your feedback from your own or your client's concerns and experiences with Medicare, will guide our Medicare advocacy efforts with key policy and decision-makers in both California and nationally with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Congress.